Though many figurines have been found at Çatalhöyük, most are of clay, roughly made, and were discarded in refuse areas. There are a few exceptions that are finely made, such as the so-called ‘Mother Goddess’, which is now on display in the Ankara Museum of Civilisation. But almost all of the figurines are broken – including the Ankara exhibit, whose head is missing. And though rare examples of stone figurines have been recovered at Çatalhöyük, typically from Level VI and above, again most are broken.
This latest find, therefore, is hugely significant: it is made of stone, shows superbly high-quality craftsmanship, and is complete. Moreover, it was not found in refuse. It had been carefully placed beside a piece of obsidian against the wall of a house, suggesting deliberate deposition in a ritual context.
Though similar figurines have been recovered throughout the Middle East, Anatolia, and south-east Europe, the detailed context in which they were found is often not known. Our find was discovered during excavation of the earliest building in the section known as TPC Area. Floor deposits suggest the large Neolithic structure, which dates to about 6300 BC (towards the end of classic Çatalhöyük occupation), was rebuilt at least three times, and that the female figure was deliberately desposited during one of these construction phases. It was placed on a pre-existing platform and buried under a light-brown sandy layer, which was then covered by a dark-grey layer, and finally coated with a layer of white plaster 3cm thick.
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